SPEECH BY MS INDRANEE RAJAH, MINISTER, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE, SECOND MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PRESIDENT, SINDA, AT THE SINDA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021 ON SATURDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2021 AT THE CIVIL SERVICE CLUB @ TESSENSOHN
Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, and Chairman, SINDA Board of Trustees, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam;
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Mr Edwin Tong;
SINDA Board of Trustees and Executive Committee Members;
CEO, SINDA, Mr Anbarasu Rajendran;
Distinguished Guests, Award Recipients & Family Members;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
A very good morning to everyone and my heartiest congratulations to all 749 SINDA Excellence Awards recipients.
Acknowledging Achievements
- This year – the 30th anniversary of the SINDA Excellence Awards – we celebrate each of you, the top-achieving Indian students across the academic, arts and sports fields. Together as a cohort, across 19 award categories, you represent the diverse talents and outstanding qualities present in our students, and have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in your chosen pathway.
- Another cause for celebration is that this year, we recognise our largest cohort of recipients in the history of the SINDA Excellence Awards. This achievement signals that more Indian students are doing well. Importantly, this is also testament to your dedication and resilience in what has been an incredibly challenging period over the past two years.
Progressing as a Community
- The pandemic has been the crisis of a generation that has disrupted all facets of life and society. It also affected the education system, with schools having to work quickly and ably to transition to online lessons. As students you’ve had to adapt to a new style of learning and that too, in a home-based learning environment. Despite these trials, you and your peers have risen to the occasion and proven that no obstacle can impede you, on your path to achieving excellence.
- Your spirit of excellence and perseverance, and that of those who came before you, have been pivotal to underlining the progress of our Indian community. In the recently-released Census of Population 2020, we saw that the Indian community had achieved significant overall improvement in academic performance — 67.4% of all Singaporean Indians hold a post-secondary, professional qualification, diploma or university degree today, up from only 59.3% a decade ago. In mentioning this statistic, we are not focusing on the paper qualification. Rather, the focus is on ensuring that our people have the right knowledge, skills and aptitude to take advantage of the opportunities that come their way.
- These statistics also signal to us that the Indian community’s academic performance is on a very positive, upward trend. This did not happen on its own overnight. Instead, this is the fruit of many years of focused efforts on education, as a community, in partnership with national and government agencies – everyone working together to provide the best possible outcomes for our students.
- While these achievements are significant, there is always room for us to grow in bettering academic performance. As a community, we must and will continue to build upon this positive growth, to ensure that everyone, especially the students who come from less-advantaged backgrounds, are strongly supported in their pursuits and ambitions.
Many Hands Working Together
- You would know that SINDA is a key organisation focused on our community’s educational goals. While SINDA serves as an enabler, I also want to laud and encourage the many who working alongside the organisation – schools, teachers, community partners, volunteers and of course, your parents, families and loved ones. I am heartened by all your dedicated efforts and I urge you to continue giving our students continued strong and able support to allow them to thrive in the future landscape.
- Each step on our children’s learning journeys shapes their aspirations and guides their ambitions. Hence, it is important that our youths enjoy a positive and nurturing environment – one that empowers them and strengthens their self-belief, so that they have the right mindset and attitude to accomplish their goals.
Youths as Agents of Change
- Among the many achievers here today is the SEA cohort valedictorian, Yarlagadda Sai Surya, who receives the award for the NUS degree category. This is his third time receiving the SEA award, having previously received it for his GCE O- and A-Levels as well. Surya may only be 26, but he is already making his mark not just in Singapore but also in the region. He is a very passionate individual who aims to advance sustainability efforts in our country.
- He has, at this relatively young age, already founded two start-ups − Young Sustainable Impact Southeast Asia (YSI SEA) and Interseed – which aim to empower social entrepreneurs to innovate for sustainability. He’s organised a series of annual programmes to empower social entrepreneurs in the region and incubated 27 projects so far! I applaud Surya’s dedication in bettering our world and I wish him the very best in his path ahead.
- Just as Surya, all of you would have similar passions to bring about positive change across many levels. I urge you to keep working on furthering these passions into constructive action, so that you can introduce equally positive change to our collective future. This is also very much at the core of SG Together – a connected society, where all of us work together, actively contribute ideas and efforts and embark on a journey of shared success, as one Singapore.
- As you take the next steps and progress in your pathways, there will be continued opportunities for you to contribute towards helping others and making Singapore a better place for everyone. Just as we saw the many ground-up social efforts that sprung up in service to our fellowmen throughout this pandemic, you too can find your calling to contribute to meaningful causes. These will in return be strong reflections of the compassionate, gracious and supportive spirit that is within each Singaporean.
Conclusion
- So, while we celebrate your successes today, I am also confident that your achievements would not stop here, and that you would go on to make waves in the future and bring about meaningful impact. I wish you every success in your endeavours and I look forward to our combined contributions to our nation and our community, in the years to come. Congratulations once again!
Thank you.